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The Flying Pig Jianbing Truck Does One Thing and Does It Well

Last week I stumbled upon a bright yellow truck without much signage and no line parked on 52nd between 6th and 7th Avenue. It’s called The Flying Pig Jianbing and it was difficult to find a menu because they only do one thing.

Their specialty is a unique northern Chinese egg crepe (jianbing) that is a popular street food in Beijing for breakfast and something I’ve never encountered before in this city. The difficult-to-read menu advertises these for $7.00 with a few choices for add on at $2.50 each: dry pork, bamboo, or water chestnuts. I really wasn’t sure what I was going to get, but I knew I wanted there to be pork in it.

I ended up with a huge, thick crepe. The batter was incredibly thin and I could see egg bits throughout. This wasn’t going to be a hand’s on meal, so I’m pleased they included a fork and knife.

This thing was layered with shards of ultra-crispy wonton sheets. It provided an amazing crunch. The pork had a unique dried and earthy quality adding some nice sweet and spicy flavors. It must have been slicked with hoisin and perhaps some chili sauce. I’ve never had any other versions of jianbing, but this was super delicious and very filling. I have read that they often have a pork belly option on certain days.

A misstep for many food trucks on the street is that they spread themselves too thin and have too many menu items. It’s always more successful when they stick to one thing and perfect it. And that’s exactly what The Flying Pig Jianbing has done. Not only have they brought us an affordable, unique, delicious lunch, but they’ve introduced the city to a famous street food that we didn’t realize we were missing.

Flying Pig Jianbing has built up quite a following near NYU at nights, but they’ve recently started making Midtown lunch stops – Thursdays and Fridays on 52nd and 47th between Lex and Park on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Be sure to check their Instagram or Facebook before you head out.